Rough Rider Reenactment Groups

At the start of the Spanish-American War congress authorized 200,000 volunteer soldiers to supplement the regular army which at that time numbered only 28,000 (at least on paper). In the rush of patriotic fever over a million men attempted to enlist. The call for volunteers provided for three regiments of "mounted riflemen" and the then Secretary of War, Russell Alger, offered a command of one of these regiments to Theodore Roosevelt.

While Theodore desperately wanted to be part of the fight he was smart enough to realize that he did not have the necessary experience to command a combat regiment. He deferred command to his friend Col. Leonard Wood, a Medal of Honor winner from the Indian Wars, while he accepted a commission and second-in-command as a Lt. Colonel. Thus the Rough Riders, officially the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry--Dismounted, was born of this friendship. (In the table of organization it was in the 2nd Brigade of Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler's Cavalry Division. Other units in the 2nd Brigade were the 1st US Cavalry, 10th US Cavalry (The Buffalo Soldiers), and the 10th U.S. Cavalry Mountain Gun Detachment.)

Originally the unit had no name other than it's official 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry designation. However, because of Roosevelt's colorful character the press started to refer to the group by various nicknames such as "Wood's Wild Westerners," and "Teddy's Riotous Rounders" but the two names that got the most use were "Teddy's Terrors," and "Roosevelt's Rough Riders." Neither Wood nor Roosevelt really cared for any of the names but the "Rough Riders" moniker seemed to stick and soon they were referring to themselves in official correspondence as the "Rough Riders," the name that has come down through history.

The regiment's strength was initially set to 780 but that number was later raised to 1000. The Rough Rider's ranks included cowboys, indians, socialites, polo players and just average citizens who responded to the nation's call to arms. The majority of its members came from Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and New York.

The regiment gathered at Camp Wood in San Antonio, Texas for training and provisioning, and after a month of preparation they left for Tampa, Florida, where the Cuban invasion force under Gen. William Shafter, was gathering. The entire transport project was the epitome of total confusion and chaos. Thanks, however, to Wood's organizational skills and Roosevelt's brashness they were able to get transportation and equipment and thus be part of the 17,000 man force destined for Cuba. Unfortunately, nearly half of the regiment's men and nearly all of its horses were left behind due to lack of space on the ships bound for Cuba.

The exploits of the Rough Riders in Cuba are well enough known not to have to be repeated here. However, for those who would like to learn more about the Rough Riders I strongly recommend the book, The Rough Riders, by Theodore Roosevelt, with additional text by Richard Bak, Taylor Publishing, Dallas, TX, ISBN 0878339825.

A rather good video on the Rough Riders, called (what else) The Rough Riders, was produced by Turner Pictures and directed by John Milius. Staring Tom Berenger who gives a great performance as Theodore Roosevelt, it is quite good as far as historical and technical accuracy goes (major goofs were some reverse printed scenes--gotta get me one of those left-handed Krags), TR's using and M1873 Colt .45 instead of the Colt M1895 .38, and some minor tinkering for dramatic or storyline effects, but it is otherwise a keeper. The Turner VHS video number is T6538 and its ISBN is 0-7806-2156-5. It is out of print but should be available from any large supplier of video tapes.

Rough Riders was recently (6/06) released as a 2 disc DVD set (standard TV format, 1.33:1) as Turner #T7580, ISBN 0780654374 and it is available from Amazon.com and other retailers

There is also a sound track CD available. It was published by Intrada and its stock number was MAF 7079. It doesn't seem to be currently listed on their site http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/alias.intrada/.f

In the movie the song "Minstrel Boy" is introduced as G Troop's troop song. It is an Irish patriotic song written by Thomas Moore (1779-1852) who set it to the melody of The Moreen, an old Irish tune. The song gained widespread popularity and became a favorite of many Irishmen who fought during the United States Civil War and the Spanish American War and gained even more popularity after World War I. The melody is frequently played at funerals of members and/or officers of such organizations who have died or been killed in service, typically on bagpipes. Unsurprisingly, given its lyrics, it is also associated with the Irish Army and with traditionally Irish units found in other armies. I thought it was a very haunting melody and have reproduced the original lyrics below.

The minstrel boy to the war is gone,
In the ranks of death you'll find him;
His father's sword he hath girded on,
And his wild harp slung behind him;

"Land of Song!" cried the warrior bard,
"Tho' all the world betrays thee,
One sword, at least, thy right shall guard,
One faithful harp shall praise thee!"

The Minstrel fell! But the foeman's chain
Could not bring that proud soul under;
The harp he lov'd ne'er spoke again,
For he tore its chords asunder;

And said "No chains shall sully thee,
Thou soul of love and brav'ry!
Thy songs were made for the pure and free
They shall never sound in slavery!

During the American Civil War, a third verse was added.

The minstrel boy will return one day,
When we hear the news, we will cheer it.
The minstrel boy will return we pray,
Torn in body, perhaps, but not in spirit.

Then may he play his harp in peace,
In a world such as Heaven intended,
For every quarrel of Man must cease,
And every battle shall be ended.

Many of the Rough Riders carried personal arms of various types (the Winchester M1895 carbine in .30-40 was known to have been carried by some of the officers and men). The issue arms of US forces were the Krag repeating rifles and carbines, Springfield single-shot rifles and carbines, and Colt revolvers. The Rough Riders, as dismounted cavalry, were officially armed for the most part with Regular Army's Krag "cavalry" carbines thanks to insistence of Col. Wood and the efforts of Theodore Roosevelt. For those of you interested in the small arms of the Rough Riders you can click on the links below to visit my ordnance pages.

While not of general issue the Rough Riders also utilized several caisson mounted Gatling Guns in .30-40 Krag (not .45-70) as well as 2 tripod mounted M1895 Colt/Browning "Potato Digger" machineguns in 7 x 57 Mauser that were donated to the unit.

The Gatling Guns are a fairly well known item, but the M1895 Colt is not. It was a belt fed, gas operated machine gun designed by John Moses Browning. Its actuator arm swung down below the barrel when fired thus leading to its nickname "potato digger." Weighing in at close to 40 pounds it was not particularly handy with its 50 pound tripod and mount, nor very reliable. Due to its lack of adequate barrel cooling it was suitable for short bursts of fire rather than sustained use but it proved to be a very useful arm.

There are several Rough Rider reenactment groups across the country. They vary in function from simply marching in parades to actual battle reenactments, historical restorations, and presentations. If you know of any other Rough Rider specific groups please contact me by clicking here.

1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, A Troop, Prescott Rough Riders (Prescott, AZ)

There is also a Spanish-American War web site available at: http//www.spanamwar.com which has information on many other Spanish-American War re-enactment groups.

The Rough Riders 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry

The Rough Riders
1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry